Iran Reopens Land Border with Iraqi Kurdistan

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October 25, 2017

Iran Reopens Land Border with Iraqi Kurdistan

According to the head of Iraqi Kurdistan’s Customs Office, the Bashmagh land border between Iran’s Mariwan and Iraq’s Sulaymaniyah has been reopened since Wednesday.

Earlier on Tuesday, Sirwan Mohammed, the head of Sulaymaniyah’s Chamber of Commerce, had declared the border crossing will be open for both travel and trade.

There are two crossings between Sulaymaniyah and Iran: Parviz-Khan and Bashmagh. The mayor of Mariwan, on the Iranian side of the Bashmagh border, had confirmed that crossing will be open on Wednesday, according to local media reports.

The Iranian consulate in Erbil also said the border crossings were being reopened at the request of the Sulaymaniyah Provincial Council and families of the victims of the Halabja chemical attack.

Earlier in the day, the head of the Sulaymaniyah Provincial Council, Azad Mohammed Amin, told reporters that they had made such a request of the Iranians.

Iran closed all three border crossings on October 15 upon Baghdad’s request, though semi-official crossings such as Halabja’s Tawela gate were still functioning.

Iran Keen to Expand Business Ties with Uganda: FM

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IFP Editorial Staff

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October 25, 2017

Iran Keen to Expand Business Ties with Uganda: FM

Speaking in Iran-Uganda Business Forum held in the African state’s capital of Kampala, Zarif said, “We have held a special view of Africa since the victory of our Islamic Revolution in 1979, and Africa is one of our priorities for expansion of economic cooperation.”

During the Wednesday forum, which was also attended by Ugandan FM Sam Kutesa, the Iranian top diplomat also noted that relations between Tehran and Kampala are very strong and the Islamic Republic is interested in reinforcement of its cooperation with Uganda in various business fields.

“Heads of top Iranian business and commercial firms and representatives of major producers, industries, agriculture companies, research centres, banks, economic foundations, shipping lines, and car manufacturers are accompanying me in this trip,” Zarif noted, adding that members of his delegation are keen to cooperate with their Ugandan counterparts.

Iran Sympathizes with Japan over Typhoon Casualties

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IFP Editorial Staff

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October 25, 2017

Iran Sympathizes with Japan over Typhoon Casualties

In a statement on Wednesday, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi offered sympathy to the Japanese nation and government and the bereaved families of the typhoon’s victims.

Typhoon Lan blazed through Tokyo on Monday morning after making landfall along the central Pacific coastline earlier in the day, leaving seven people dead as it pummelled Honshu with heavy rain and strong winds.

Mass transport was disrupted as the storm approached the Japanese archipelago, with railways cancelling or reducing morning train runs and airlines suspending flights, according to Japan Times.

With an atmospheric pressure of 950 hectopascals at its centre and packing winds of up to 198 kph, the season’s 21st typhoon brought particularly heavy rain to western Japan as it approached, dumping some 800 mm in the 48 hours through Sunday evening in Wakayama Prefecture, and 700 mm in Mie, the Meteorological Agency said.

Iraqi Kurds Offer to Suspend Referendum Results

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IFP Editorial Staff

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October 25, 2017

Senior leaders with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) are calling for “an immediate ceasefire and halt to all military operations in the Kurdistan region” in order to create an “open dialogue” between Erbil and Baghdad over the fate of Kurdish-held territories in the ethnically diverse Nineveh province, says an official KRG statement.

“As Iraq and Kurdistan are faced with grave and dangerous circumstances, we are all obliged to act responsibly in order to prevent further violence and clashes,” between Kurdish Peshmerga forces, Iraqi military troops and Popular Mobilization Units or PMUs, officials said in the statement released late Tuesday night.

“Continued fighting does not lead any side to victory, but it will drive the country towards disarray and chaos, affecting all aspects of life,” KRG officials said, The Washington Times reported.

The move is a clear win for the government of Iraqi Prime Minister Haider al-Abadi, who directed the Iraqi Army to begin retaking Kurdish-held territories in northern Iraq, days after voters in Iraqi Kurdistan overwhelmingly approved a referendum that put territory on the path to independence.

Despite the KRG statement, an Iraqi military spokesman suggested an offensive to wrest back Kurdish-held territory would continue regardless, Reuters reported.

The Iraqi government has transformed the balance of power in the north of the country since launching a campaign last week against the Kurds, who govern an autonomous region of three northern provinces.

Baghdad declared the referendum illegal and responded to the vote by seizing back the city of Kirkuk, the oil-producing areas around it and other territory that the Kurds had captured from militant group Islamic State.

ISIS Terrorist Group Threatens to Attack FIFA World Cup

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IFP Editorial Staff

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October 25, 2017

The poster was released by a pro-ISIS media group called Wafa Media Foundation. It was discovered by the think tank SITE Intelligence Group, which tweeted the poster on Tuesday.

“You are fighting a state that does not have failure in its dictionary,” reads a message on the poster accompanying an image on Messi crying blood behind bars.

The poster also mocks Nike’s ‘Just do it’ catchphrase by replacing the words with ‘Just Terrorism’ below the Messi image.

Threats to next summer’s World Cup in Russia have previously been made by propaganda groups affiliated to the terror outfit.

ISIS had previously claimed responsibility for setting off a bomb outside the Stade de France on the night of the Paris terror attacks. France were hosting Germany in a friendly at the time of the blast.

The terror group had also threatened to disrupt the 2016 European Championships as well as the 2017 Women’s European Championships. Both tournaments, however, were safely conducted under heavy security cover.

Iranian, Russian Diplomats Discuss Syria Crisis

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IFP Editorial Staff

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October 24, 2017

During a Tuesday meeting in Tehran, the two sides discussed the agenda of the seventh round of Astana talks which is slated to be held in the Kazakh capital soon.

The two senior negotiators also discussed the latest developments in the de-escalation zones and new proposals for the establishment of lasting peace in Syria.

Syria has been gripped by civil war since March 2011 with various terrorist groups, including ISIS still controlling parts of it.

According to a report by the Syrian Centre for Policy Research, the conflict has claimed the lives of over 470,000 people, injured 1.9 million others, and displaced nearly half of the country’s pre-war population of about 23 million within or beyond its borders.

In the meantime, Iran and Russia have remained a close ally of Syria and support its legitimate government in the face of foreign-backed militancy.

Tehran insists that the Syrian nation is the only side that has the right to shape the future of its own country, rejecting foreign intervention with the use of force.

Iran Most Advanced Mideast Country in Renewable Energies: Forbes

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IFP Editorial Staff

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October 24, 2017

“When it comes to energy sources the Middle East may be synonymous with oil, but these days governments across the region are trying to develop other, greener sources of energy,” a Tuesday report by Forbes noted.

“Iran is the most advanced in its development of renewable energy, mostly due to its past investments in hydropower schemes,” the report said.

“Lately, however, it has been taking big strides in terms of wind and solar power, with a slew of new projects announced over the past few months.”

“The largest to date was unveiled on October 17 when Norway’s Saga Energy signed a €2.5bn ($2.9bn) deal with the state-owned Amin Energy Developers to build a solar power plant with generating capacity of up to 2GW over the next five years,” it added.

“The deal is typical of many of the renewable energy deals in Iran in that it is a European company making the investment. Among other recent examples, Norway’s Scatec Solar has said it is in talks to build a 110MW solar power plant, worth around $132m; it could expand it to 500MW at a later date.”

“In addition, Hashem Oraee, president of the Iran Wind Energy Association (IRWEA), recently told local media that Danish companies are ready to invest as much as $1bn in renewable energy projects in Iran,” the report said.

“It is not just Nordic countries which are getting involved. On September 20, the UK’s Quercus said it planned to deliver 600MW of solar power in Iran at a total cost of some €500m. Local media have linked Germany’s Solarwatt and Italy’s Finergy Company to other schemes. In June, a delegation of seven German renewable energy companies toured North Khorasan province to examine potential sites for solar and wind power projects.”

“Some smaller projects are already at or near completion. In late July, work was completed on the 20MW Mokran solar power plant in Kerman province, backed by a joint venture of Germany’s Adore and Switzerland’s Durion. The companies are planning a 100MW solar plant for an adjoining site. In April, Iran’s Ghadir Electricity and Energy Company and Greece’s Metka announced they had completed a 10MW plant close to Isfahan. In February another 14MW solar plant was unveiled in Hamedan, in the west of the country,” it went on to say.

“In total, these deals are adding up to many billions of dollars of investment into the Iranian economy. In April, Iran’s deputy economy minister Mohammad Khazaei said EU countries had invested $3.6bn in Iran’s energy sector since January 2016. […]Khazaei told the 1st Iran-European Union Business Forum on Sustainable Energy in Tehran that the government had “so far approved of 48 projects for electricity generation through renewable energies,” the report added.

“There are a few reasons behind the rush of investment, including favourable investment terms on offer from the Iranian government. The country’s Energy Ministry typically signs deals guaranteeing to purchase the output of renewable energy plants for 20 years, via the Renewable Energy Organization of Iran (SUNA). The plants are also tax exempt for between five and 13 years.”

Iran Sentences Mossad Agent to Death

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IFP Editorial Staff

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October 24, 2017

Tehran prosecutor Abbas Jafari Dolatabadi said that based on the ruling issued by the court, the agent has been given a death sentence for relaying information to Mossad.

“The agent had relayed information about some 30 significant Iranian figures to the Israeli service,” the judiciary’s news website Mizan Online quoted him as saying.

He said the 30 Iranians were involved in research, military and nuclear projects, including two nuclear scientists Majid Shahriari and Masoud Ali Mohammadi who were martyred in bomb attacks in 2010.

Dolatabadi went on saying that the agent, who claimed to have a guilty conscience about the martyrdom of the Iranian scientists, has held numerous meetings with more than eight members of the Israeli spy agency providing them with information related to the activity of Iranian military sites, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) and many other secret information in return for money and obtaining residency in Sweden.

Four Iranian nuclear scientists were assassinated between 2010 and 2012. Iran says those involved in the killings had been supported by the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad.

Cartoonist Trying to Correct Misconceptions about Iranian Women

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IFP Editorial Staff

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October 24, 2017

Vaeznia, a well-known cartoonist who has worked for Gol-Agha satirical magazine and other periodicals in Iran, said, “I believe in spite of the grossmisrepresentationof Iran by some foreign media, the Iranian women are very active in all social, cultural, political areas and otherfields.”

“Indeed, some of the limitations that exist for women have made them more motivated,” she added, according to a Farsi report by Honar Online news agency.

Vaeznia, who had previously workedin TV series of popular Iranian director Mehran Modiri, stated that the patriarchal society of Iran has never led to the passivity of housewives, but instead has given them the chance to make more efforts to shine.

She also noted that this exhibition has a realistic look at women and their rights in today’s Iranian society.“In recent years, Iranian women have drawn closer to achieving their real social status.”

“By organizing this exhibition, I try to change the non-realistic opinion of Iranians living abroad about the status of Iranian women, and to persuade them to be realistic,” said Vaeznia, adding that“I actually want to depict the opportunities and threats facing Iranian women in my works.”

“Had all of us (Iranian women) spent a bit of this energy on working instead of complaining about our rights, perhaps today we could have been witness to the greater presence of women in the community,” she went on to say.

She also underlined that most women, who complain abouttheir rights, are the main violators of women’s rights by their behaviour and thinking.

She also pointed out that “in this exhibition I will do my best to change this attitude.The audience at this exhibition is supposed to look at some cartoons which depict the problems and shortcomings that women face in society next tothe success of Iranian women.”

Persiana Art and Culture Associationintends to host the First Art Festival of Farsi-speakers in Europe in Paris in January 2018.

3 Afghan Sisters Exhibiting Surreal Artworks in Tehran

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IFP Editorial Staff

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October 24, 2017

3 Afghan Sisters Exhibiting Surreal Artworks in Tehran9

Belqeys, Nargess, and Sakineh are three young Afghan sisters who are showcasing their surreal works of art in Not Art Gallery in Tehran.

Over the past two years, they have held two other exhibits to show their abstract works. The events have drawn a considerable number of refugees and art lovers.

“We’ve been painting for five years,” says Nargess.

“When our first exhibition was held, we didn’t think that many visitors would come and see our works, but they welcomed the event, and we decided to hold our second exhibit,” she adds.

“The second exhibit was welcomed as well, and today, which is the opening of the third exhibition, even more visitors are coming here,” she further said.

“In our secondary school, we met our teacher Maryam Yeganeh. She taught us things different from what we already had in our arts lessons,” she says.

“Our style is surrealism. We love imaginary things. There are many things in our imagination which we tried to display in our paintings,” Nargess adds.

Asked about their future plans, she said they would like to hold similar exhibitions in Afghanistan and other countries.

The Tehran exhibition was kicked off on October 20 and will be open to visitors until October 25. Twenty-one tableaus painted by the three sisters are on display at the event.

Their works have been priced at Rls. 3,000,000 to 5,000,000 (roughly $75 to 125). One of the tableaus jointly painted by the three of them is priced at Rls. 12,000,000 (around $300).

Here are Asr-e Iran’s photos of the exhibition:

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